1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general relates to railroads and, more particularly, to unloading railroad cars.
It is necessary to unload cargo from railroad boxcars and transfer the contents to trucks, such as tractor-trailer trucks, also known as “eighteen wheel” trucks, and other similar vehicles.
To handle the weight, concrete docks, also known generally as “cross-docks” are used. The cross-dock allows unloading of the railroad box cars by forklift at one side and transfer of the cargo to a truck trailer at another side. It is necessary for the dock to bear the weight of the forklift plus cargo. Therefore, it has to be strong. Concrete is the only known viable prior-art way of building a cross-dock.
Sometimes, the need for unloading boxcars is temporary or intermittent. In such instances there is no need for a permanent installation of a cross-dock. However, there has been no previously known way of providing a portable cross-dock system that is both structurally sound and which can be effectively moved from place to place.
Also, for certain work areas it is not permissible to build and permanently leave a cross-dock system in place. Sometimes, because of the needs of the project at hand, the cross-dock must be built at substantial cost, used for a period of time, and then torn down and destroyed after it has served its purpose. The debris must then be hauled away, also at significant expense.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a portable cross-dock system that helps to ameliorate the above-mentioned difficulties and also those that are briefly mentioned in the objects, hereinafter.
Clearly, such a system would be especially useful and desirable.
2. Description of Prior Art
Concrete cross-docks are, in general, known. While the structural arrangements of the above described devices may, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior devices.